


something that is exquisite, and worth remembering

by Lady_Ganesh



Category: Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: Libraries, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 10:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2064237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/pseuds/Lady_Ganesh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tenpou finds himself entranced by a library. Kenren, as always, is entranced by Tenpou.</p><p>Title from Erasmus, who advised, "Before you sleep, read something that is exquisite, and worth remembering."</p><p>Thanks to my beta, remaining errors are mine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	something that is exquisite, and worth remembering

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rose Argent (roseargent)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseargent/gifts).



Tenpou had heard rumors of places like this Down Below, but he had never before managed to engineer an excuse to visit. He reached out and caressed the spine of the nearest book, a lovingly illustrated book of anatomy that a fleeing patron had left on the table. It was bound in thick blue leather, and the images were so well-printed Tenpou almost felt he was in a classroom, staring a a magnificently prepared specimen. Or, better still, that Nature itself had peeled aside layers of living flesh, the better for his study.

"Oi, Tenpou," Kenren called. His voice sounded very distant. "We're all cleaned up, gotta run."

"So soon?"

"We left you alone with that book for the better part of an hour," Kenren laughed, clapping a hand on Tenpou's shoulder. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Ah," Tenpou said, pushing his glasses up on his nose and shaking off the reverie. "Thank you, of course."

"No worries. We don't see you so happy that often."

Tenpou looked up and regarded his subordinate and commanding officer. "I am content enough."

"Like I said," Kenren said, turning for the door. "We don't see you happy that often."

 

Of course, there were libraries in Heaven, but they were more often filled with scrolls of philosophy than actual knowledge. The thought of such a large library devoted to natural science was incredibly appealing.

"Am I gonna have to sneak you down there?" Kenren asked one morning, with his most roguish smile.

"I'm afraid that such a trivial excursion might be beyond even your charms to manage," Tenpou rejoined.

He realized much later that he had not actually told Kenren _no._

 

Still, he had almost forgotten about it when they next were called to service. The alarm had sounded just before dawn, and the men were ready at the gate as the sun began to paint the Earth in light. "Nice mornin'," Kenren said, and whatever the man's flaws, Tenpou was always impressed by the way he filled out his uniform. "Word has it it's one intruder, large and hungry."

"Delightful."

"Don't worry about it, Field Marshal," Eizen said. "We'll get back in time for breakfast."

In fact, they were not back in time for breakfast, and as noon approached they were all beginning to get hungry. "Still no sign of it," Rihaku said. "I hope nothing weird's going on."

"Let's eat," Kenren said, wiping the sweat from his brow; the day had gotten hot. "We'll be sharper with full stomachs."

Tenpou agreed, and they sat in the shade of an enormous maple tree to eat. The sky was bright, perfect blue, the kind that was an everyday occurrence in Heaven but a treasure Down Below. They let the men take their time while they discussed the problem.

"We have a path of destruction, but nothing that appears to have caused it," Tenpou said. "I have heard of insects with brief life cycles, but this would seem inordinately dramatic."

"Description would have matched an insect, though," Kenren said, taking a thoughtful drink of what Tenpou hoped was water. "Maybe it's gone to ground."

"It's possible," Tenpou said, but it seemed too pat. He frowned.

"I know," Kenren said, seized with an idea. "That library you liked so much, we're not far from it. You could look there, maybe take a few of the men, while the rest of us keep searching."

"I'm not sure," he said. "I would certainly enjoy the work, but--"

"We can come get you if we find it. And nobody's going to be better at research than you."

He sighed. "All right," he agreed. "But not for too long."

 

The sun was setting when Kenren reappeared. "Well, the good news is we found the answer," he said.

Tenpou looked up from his book (a slender volume called _A Garden of Mysterious Beasts,_ which had seemed promising but now appeared to be chiefly occupied with its author's fantasy life) and said, "and the bad?"

"Reason it went to ground," Kenren said, finding a chair and stretching his long legs out on the table Tenpou was sitting next to, "was 'cause it was molting. Now it's a damn-ass big moth."

"A menacing insect, or a peaceful one?"

"Hard to say." Kenren grinned at him. "Jyouei saw it fanning its new wings in the sunlight, and fucked if a bird didn't come out of nowhere and carry the thing off." He swung his legs down. "Anyway, we took a vote, and we all agreed you and anybody else who wants can stay in here while we go play baseball."

"A vote," Tenpou said skeptically.

"What, you think I don't know how to take a vote? Anyway, the Gate thinks it'll take us an hour to clean up the molting, so I figure we have about two 'fore they start getting suspicious." He took a quick glance at their surroundings, then, when he was certain they were unobserved, pressed a quick kiss to the back of Tenpou's neck. "Have fun. That's an order."

 

Konzen squinted at the report, as though doing so would help the damn thing make sense.

Some idiot had set the entire 11th out after a monstrous, menacing animal that turned out to be an insect in a new phase of its life cycle. The scouts should have known that, but someone had dropped the ball.

No harm done, he supposed, though someone was going to get a hell of a lecture.

He carefully lined up his stamp.

 

"You didn't suffer too badly, I hope," Kenren said.

"Had a perfect record, you know," Yan said. "Ruined, thanks to a bug. Everyone very disappointed at the waste of Heavenly resources, et cetera and so forth, hearts broken, all that."

"They didn't dock your pay?"

Yan smiled. "Not a yuan."

"That's all right then." Kenren reached into his pack. "Saw this the other day when we were out there. Thought you might like it." He handed Yan a package wrapped in paper.

"That's very kind of you," Yan said. Kenren could hear the excitement suppressed in his voice. Couldn't blame the man; it wasn't every day you had a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon delivered from Down Below.

Kenren thought of Tenpou, jacket off, hunched over the pages of _An Everyday Bestiary,_ and smiled to himself. It cost so little, really, to make people happy.


End file.
